The Association

Write What You See: Houston's Winning Streak Ain't All That

By Craig Kwasniewski

First off, let's give a rousing golf clap to the Houston Rockets for winning all those games.  The regular season is a long and arduous journey and for a team to remain so focused for such a long time is very impressive (especially with their "superstar" out for the remainder of the season with Olympic aspirations).  As we're seeing with the Spurs and Lakers right at this moment, many teams tend to coast during portions of the long season, waiting to crank it up for the playoffs.  So, cheers to you, Houston... thanks for not mailing in the season when Yao Ming quit on you for the Olympics!

BUT...

Is a streak against meager competition really worthy of all the attention?  Just look at who they beat over the past six weeks (quality W's in bold):

1. Jan 29   vs.  Golden State   (Good win... and a SHOCKING T to Boom Dizzle for complaining to the refs)
2. Feb 1     at    Indiana            (Lottery bound with the worst point guard in the NBA)
3. Feb 2     at    Milwaukee       (Yao vs. Yi Jianlian, The Chinese SB = most overrated game ever!)
4. Feb 4     at    Minnesota        (Do I REALLY need to say anything here?)
5. Feb 7    vs.   Cleveland        (Finally a quality W against the league's MVP)
6. Feb 9     vs.   Atlanta             (Is a W against the 10th best team in the east newsworthy?)
7. Feb 11   vs.   Portland           (Not the Portland team of December)
8. Feb 13   vs.   Sacramento      (A W thanks to a clutch three by Steve Novak... WHO????)
9. Feb 19  at    Cleveland         (How did LBJ let the Cavs lose to HOU twice?)
10. Feb 21   vs.   Miami               (The worst team in the NBA not coached by Pat Riley!)
11. Feb 22  at    New Orleans     (Good W against the 5th best team in the west, see below)
    
12. Feb 24    vs.  Chicago             (This team is in complete turmoil, very 2002 Clippers-esque)
13. Feb 26    vs.  Washington       (No Butler, no Arenas... no problem)
14. Feb 29    vs.  Memphis           (The Washington Generals of the NBA)
15. Mar 2    vs.   Denver            (Not THAT impressive considering the choke job by George Karl)
16. Mar 5    vs.   Indiana             (How/Why the hell did they keep Tinsley?)
17. Mar 6    at    Dallas               (No Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs are lacking confidence)
18. Mar 8    vs.  New Orleans     (Spurs, Lakers, Mavs and Jazz are better than New Orleans!)
    
19. Mar 10  vs.   New Jersey        (Why they hell didn't they ship VC to the NYK's?)
20. Mar 12  at    Atlanta              (Could possibly make the playoffs, only to be swept by the C's)
    

Notice not a single solitary game against the Spurs, Pistons, Celtics, Lakers or even the Jazz?

So before we crown the Rockets The Greatest Team Ever!, I have a few questions:

How long before T-Mac’s back gives out?  How long before Rick Adleman starts to realize he's Rick Adleman and chokes in the playoffs (like in Sacramento)?  Will T-Mac go into “here I go again” mode if they lose back-to-back games in the first round?  (BTW - both T-Mac and Yao have never advanced in the playoffs... are they still "superstars?")  Can they keep winning with a 75-year old center?  They’re playing at such a high level of confidence, but can they continue at this pace for the next 6 weeks?  Their starting point guard was an And-1 grad!!!!  Can we seriously believe that Tha Professors’s protégé is capable of hanging with the likes of CP3, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Jason Kidd or Baron Davis?

The Rockets are a great mid-season story, but I can’t buy into them. Such a first round loss.... again.

Write What You See: A Great Night in the Association

By Craig Kwasniewski

Okay this is not some long-winded gloat-fest about the Lakers win over the Suns. I'll save that for the playoffs. Instead, tonight was a night for all the hardcore NBA fans out there. You had major debuts, a sick game winning jumper, a triple double, a very smart trade and even a Clippers win... simply fantastic!

So let's just run with another edition of Write What You See:

Boom Dizzle hits a SWEET game winner against the C's: I gotta give Baron Davis and GSW Hoops credit for beating the Celtics without Captain Jack. Normally I'd try to find something negative in the W just to get under the very sensitive skin of the Oaktown fans, but you guys deserved this one. I thought the Celtics would come out on fire after their loss last night at Denver and I thought Golden State would drop a second loss in a row, but instead they rode the wave of their incredible fans and once again rallied in the 4th quarter for a huge win. That has to be something like 12 fourth quarter rallies by GSW this year. It's a damn shame that they currently sit 9th in the west. The NBA *NEEDS* this team to make the playoffs!

Spurs get Kurt Thomas: Once again, while other teams are making panic deals in trying to keep up in the wild west (read: Dallas and Golden State), the Spurs go under the radar and acquire exactly what they need: a defensive big. This is why the Spurs have been contenders since 1999 and will still remain in the title race for the balance of Tim Duncan's career. Tim Thomas offers veteran experience, a tough/east coast style of defense and he's a great teammate. What makes the deal even better is that the Suns have been reeling defensively since they let Thomas go in a money-saving deal. So as the Lakers and Suns are scary-big, the Spurs counter with additional front court help and gave up nothing in return. They match up perfectly with what the Suns offer and can probably hang with the Lakers.... simply a smart deal.

LeBron with a Triple-Double: With all the debuts and game winners is LeBron's triple-double against the Pacers. The ESPN guys were praising Kobe tonight as a top MVP contender, but I'm still giving it to LeBron. The guy is simply carrying a broken and not-that-talented team to W after W. They may run out of gas in the playoffs against the C's and Pistons, but what LeBron is doing is straight out of the 80's (Bird, Magic, Mj, Isiah) with that will to win.

CP3 to Kidd: Debut This! Chris Paul drops a major schooling on Dallas in Jason Kidd's debut. I'm guessing that the Western Conference leading New Orleans Hornets are getting tired of all the talk about everyone else out west the past week and were primed to send a message to the Mavs. I know Kidd only had one practice with his new team and I know they'll get better, but expect a lot of the top point guards to have great nights against Kidd. The guy's simply not the same defender he was a few seasons ago. And I can't state this enough (especially after the Kurt Thomas trade), the Mavs are not big enough to hang with Phoenix, San Antonio or Los Angeles.

Shaq's debut in Phoenix: No gloating here... just a few facts: Fact, Shaq played his ass off and clearly knows his role with Phoenix (defense, rebounding and size). Fact, Nash and the Suns will learn to play with Shaq. Fact, Shaq is no longer explosive, but is smart enough to make a difference. Fact, with Shaq eating space, Amare will get some seriously monster numbers.

However...

Fact, the Suns defense is not that good (especially with Nash, Shaq and Amare all poor on pick and rolls). Fact, the Suns will miss Marion's help defense (he was a great rotational shot blocker). Fact, the Suns will miss Marion's defense against Kobe (he split defense on Kobe with Raja Bell, who looked tired at the end). That being said, despite the loss at home to a Lakers team missing Andrew Bynum and playing the second of a back-to-back and despite blowing the season tiebreaker in a very emotional game, the Suns are still one of the teams to beat out West (three team race with the Lakers, Suns and Spurs).

That was a fun game to watch and I'll pay close attention to Shaq's "college basketball season" over the next few weeks just to see how it plays out.

Whatever happens, tonight was one of those "I love the NBA!!!!" nights.

Write What You See: Devean George is My Most Favorite Player Ever!

By Craig Kwasniewski

Devean George for having the bollocks (I've been watching a lot of V for Vendetta) to use your no trade clause in the face of the Jason Kidd to Dallas trade, I dub thee my most favorite player ever! Seriously, Devean George of all people just denied a major blockbuster deal. I can't imagine anything funnier... well except Smush Parker having a run-in with a parking valet and getting benched for the season.

Do you now see what I went through during the Devean George/Smush Parker run in 2005-06? Can't the NBA just retroactively give Kobe an MVP award for taking that woeful Lakers squad to a Game 7 against Phoenix? Other Laker greats on that team include: Kwame Brown, Brian Cook, Chris Mihm and Slava Medvedenko.

Anyway, one of my favorite Shaq-ism (and a not so veiled dig on Kobe) "Write What You See" is a few random thoughts of the mid-week in the NBA. What better way to kick start a new weekly segment than to have a few random thoughts on the Devean George hoops cock block:

A no-trade clause for that guy??? First off, I thought Kobe Bryant was the only guy in the NBA with a no-trade clause? So your telling me one the the best players in the NBA *AND* one of the worst players in the NBA are the only ones with no-trade clauses? How the hell did this happen? Seriously, one of the biggest douches in the NBA has the right to refuse a trade? I can keep asking a bajillion questions here because I thoroughly confused... Devean George has a no trade clause????

Wasn't George complaining about PT a few weeks ago? Yeah I know, another question, but it was only a few weeks ago the George was complaining that the lack of PT was hurting his chances at earning a new contract. Ummmmm correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a team in the east battling for the 8th playoff spot have a better chance of playing a VERY low basketball IQ player with no range, no intelligence, no handles and a low basketball IQ (worth mentioning a few times, he's that dumb) than the Dallas Mavericks? Devean, you were only playing big minutes because of injuries! Do you actually think Mark Cuban will allow you in his gym after this stunt. Dare I say season ending tendonitis?

That loud F-Bomb you hear is from the TNT studios in Atlanta: It's kind of a stretch, but there was a remote chance that if the trade went through today that both Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal would be making their respective debuts against each other on TNT. Talk about drama... the last game before All Star break, Shaq and the new look Suns hosting Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks with Marv Albert probably calling the game. You're talking playoff atmosphere and every NBA lifer watching this one. Too bad... THAT would have been a fun game to watch. I mean it still will be, but Kidd returning to Phoenix the same night Shaq makes a debut, I mean come on!

I bet Mark Cuban is no longer thanking Phil Jackson for letting George go. Mark Cuban, who's always willing to take a jab at PJ, was quoted as thanking Phil for letting Devean go via free agency to the Mavs because of his hustle and defense. Yes Phil, as a Laker fan, thanks for letting Devean George go.

This is actually a good thing for Dallas: Count me in the minority for this one, but I didn't like this deal for Dallas. They're gutting their roster for an aging, expensive, slower on defense, coach killing, wife beating point guard at the end of his career. Can you honestly say that the Mavs are better than the Suns, a healthy Spurs, a healthy Lakers or even Utah after this trade? They lose youth and speed at the one position in a conference deep in those areas (CP3, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, even Steve Nash). The Mavs window of opportunity is now the same 2 years as the Suns, the one team they can match up with in all five positions including the lack of depth on the bench. Maybe in the long run the Mavs can thank Devean George for allowing them to sleep on the trade and passing on it tomorrow.

Or Devean George will be forever banished to the medical ward with tendonitis, a frequent injury at the end of his Laker career. Either way, thanks Devean for showing Mavericks fans why I blew out my voice-box booing the LeDev era in Los Angeles.